Symptothermal Method
Basal Body Temperature Method
Worldwide, the basal body temperature method is the oldest and most widely practiced of the fertility awareness methods. Every woman is different, so your temperature pattern may vary from the example below. The woman should assume that body temperature will increase noticeably (0.4-0.8° Fahrenheit) at ovulation. Most women ovulate (release an egg from the ovary) at about day 14 of their menstrual cycle, plus or minus 2 days. The egg is viable for about one day, and sperm can live for 2-3 days.
Make a calendar like the one below, but without the example line. Keep a daily calendar record of the temperature using a regular thermometer (or digital) under your tongue for 3 minutes. Take your temperature after you wake up in the morning but before you get out of bed. On the same record, chart your menstrual cycle, beginning with day 1 as the first day that you begin your period. If possible, chart your temperature pattern for a few months before relying on it (NOTE: Temperature may not be accurate if a woman is sick and has a fever).
If you don’t want to get pregnant, it is safe to have sex after your temperature rises above your normal temperature for three days in a row. After ovulation, when the egg has already passed, a woman's waking temperature should rise for 12-16 days.
If you want to get pregnant, then you are most fertile (your egg likely to receive sperm) on those days just before your temperature begins to rise during ovulation. It’s difficult to predict this, so practice the temperature method until you know your pattern, and you know when you are most likely to ovulate.
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It's absolutely free! |
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There are no side effects or complications from hormones. |
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This method may actually be used to help couples achieve pregnancy. |
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Some religions and cultures approve of this method as the only acceptable form of contraception. |
You and your partner rely on each other for mutual support and commitment to make this method work, and if used correctly every time, the failure rate of this birth control method is 1%-9%.
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This method is not a good choice if your periods don’t come at a regular time each month, your temperature pattern is different each month, you just stopped birth control pills, you just started having your periods, you are close to menopause, you can’t keep a calendar chart, or you don’t like going without sex for a least two weeks. |
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This method of birth control does not protect you from HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. |
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It takes at least 6 months of recording cycles to learn how to use natural family planning. During this time, you must abstain from sex or use a barrier method. |
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This method is often unreliable during times of stress or illness because cycles may be irregular. |
Did you know that for 72 hours after sex, you can take emergency contraceptive pills to avoid becoming pregnant? AND for 5 to 7 days after sex, you can have an IUD put in, so you won’t become pregnant? Not all clinicians know about this. If you want more information, contact a Family Planning clinic near you or visit www.go2planb.com. Some of these sources of help are free. PLAN B is the emergency contraceptive pill that causes the least nausea, the least vomiting, and has the lowest failure rate.
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